About Reveille

We have a policy of never discussing moderator action. In this case, though, I'm going to make an exception because we'll need to talk about this. It's a community issue that affects many of us.

It has come to our attention that Reveille wasn't sick. He created the 'Rev's Mandy' account and fabricated his illness. I'm honestly not sure why; maybe he wanted attention, or needed to gauge how people felt about him. I don't want to guess, and I'm not sure I'm fit to judge, but there's no doubt about this and no possible mistake.

I feel really betrayed and manipulated by someone I liked and considered a friend. Mostly I feel disappointed and used. I probably won't be the only one. We have decided to ban Reveille, as this sort of behavior - this sort of lying - can not and should not be condoned. I apologize to the many people he's friends with and who have enjoyed his posts. If you wish to discuss this decision by the moderators, it's like any other moderator call at ENW: email me, don't discuss it on the boards themselves.

If you want to talk to him, he can still be emailed through the boards. Do not send him harassing emails. I figure he has enough problems already if this was necessary, and doesn't need abuse. Likewise, our rules about personal attacks still apply. That's a little tricky, though, because folks are going to need to talk about this for a while. Please use good judgment when you do, and report any posts you see that break our rules.

Finally... well, crap. This is one of the most frustrating and disappointing days I've had as a moderator over the past nine years. On behalf of our entire community, I'm sorry.

I want to say first and foremost that I am disgusted and profoundly disappointed. Having met Rev/Fru in person and considering him not only a friend but somebody who was as sweet and kind an individual as you're ever likely to meet, I cannot fathom what would drive him to do something so monstrously cruel as this. I don't know what else to say about that aspect of this ugly, horrible thing.

I want to talk about something else though and that is how I am very, very proud to be a member of this community. Seeing such an outpouring of concern and caring, however undeserved, is a mark of good people. And I am proud to be among you.

I hope that those of you who also called Reveille a friend can take some solace in the fact that you acted honorably and as a true friend would, even if he did not.

In general, glad everyone on the boards is alright and in good health.

This is incredibly disappointing... I can never claim to have known Rev, but as a long time lurker on this board I had felt very fond of him. He was one of my favorite people in the EN community. I feel very betrayed by this nonetheless, I spent days worrying about him and his loved ones. I even spent time praying for his well being and now I find out it was just a cruel joke!

Disappointing indeed, but Rel does have a point. If there is a good thing to be said of this, it's that the people of EN World are truly good people, and that is why I keep coming back here. It hurts now, but I know eventually this too shall pass, and this place will continue to be a wonderful place to come to not only to discuss our gaming, but to continue to bond as a community.

The whole thing seemed too coincidental, considering Reveille means wake up.

Maybe he thought (mistakenly) that it would be a good setup for April Fool's?

Called it.

What did it for me was just the sheer nonsense of that last message from "Mandy"

"The Experts say when he's done talking to them he'll wake up"

Bad, actionable expertise there I would think.

Also I was a bit suspicious that this girl would transcribe these 5 names of D&D Gods and--without knowing what they were--come and report them to a D&D forum.

All kinds of bells went off.

Rani said:

This is incredibly disappointing... I can never claim to have known Rev, but as a long time lurker on this board I had felt very fond of him. He was one of my favorite people in the EN community. I feel very betrayed by this nonetheless, I spent days worrying about him and his loved ones. I even spent time praying for his well being and now I find out it was just a cruel joke!

Disappointing indeed, but Rel does have a point. If there is a good thing to be said of this, it's that the people of EN World are truly good people, and that is why I keep coming back here. It hurts now, but I know eventually this too shall pass, and this place will continue to be a wonderful place to come to not only to discuss our gaming, but to continue to bond as a community.

Click to expand...

My guess is that it was not meant to be cruel or a joke. When people do something like this they are typically in a rather bad place psychologically speaking.

I too was suspicious/cynical about this whole thing. I am sad that it turned out exactly how I expected.

Honestly, the whole thing felt very fishy to me from the beginning, which is why I decided not to post any sort of "support" in the original thread.

Rel said:

I want to say first and foremost that I am disgusted and profoundly disappointed. Having met Rev/Fru in person and considering him not only a friend but somebody who was as sweet and kind an individual as you're ever likely to meet, I cannot fathom what would drive him to do something so monstrously cruel as this. I don't know what else to say about that aspect of this ugly, horrible thing.

Click to expand...

Foreword: All I know of the story is what Piratecat's posted.

Wow. On the one hand, this was a total dick thing to do.

On the other hand, this is just a message board. He didn't scam anyone out of money. He didn't kick any puppies or steal any candy from babies. I'm not condoning what he did, but calling it 'monstrously cruel' seems a little overboard to me.

I could understand if you felt betrayed, but did this really affect your life one way or another?

In the grand scheme of things, I'd rate this slightly higher than 'spamming the board with Nike shoe ads' and significantly lower than 'monstrously cruel.' Definitely worthy of a ban, but not worth losing perspective...

I suspected, but decided to take it at face value. Well, hindsight is 20/20 they say...

Anyway, I just want to say that I am proud to be part of a community that cares and worries about its members this way.

Good night!